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That's it I'm through with robot portraits. Originally the series was to be of 24 robots(what was I thinking?), but enough already! The world is full of artist who can create the same thing over and over for years and never tire of it. I am puzzled by this. How does what they do keep their attention?
On to the next ideas...
After.
Before.
It's interesting how a work evolves over just a few days. Different pieces of tin catch my eye and end up getting swapped out for what was there originally.
This was an experiment, and it was successful. I learned a lot from doing this. Click on the image to enlarge.
You know how when you go to the eye doctor and he/she holds those lenses up to your eyes and says Better 1? Better 2? as they change them back and forth? I do that a lot when a piece is in progress. Sometimes having a photograph of it to look at, on and off during the day, helps me decide which one looks better.
This recycled tin artwork was inspired by a resident whose wife had passed away. He said there is a hole in his heart where the wind blows through.
For quite a while now I have been sketching and looking at different robot images. Mostly old tin toy robots. This is the first one and it still isn't nailed down yet. On this one the background was done first which is less satisfying to me because the tin is just being layered instead of fitted together. When it's put together, as say a puzzle is, it has a very flat appearance and a better crafted look. But since I want to make a number of these I am doing it the down and dirty way.
So here he is nailed down. When multiple layers of tin have to be nailed in place it's easy to goof up. The awl can slip or go too deep and create a hole that is larger than your nail head. For these challenges I came up with some nifty solutions. Seems that with each piece I learn soooo much.
So the tin is nailed down, now comes the challenging part. What to do about the background? The possibilities are infinite. For now this piece gets set aside while I ruminate about all the different directions this can go. Another work gets started, on to the robot.
Look at this piggy bank. It's awful and fabulous at the same time. It's made from some kind of brittle plastic. It's the perfect image needed for an idea I have. No, not about any flu viruses.
While working out the pieces to this piggy project, I have placed the cut out metal shapes on magnets so I can see it evolve before nailing it down. This is a great way to work because the work can be leaned up against something and viewed from across the room.